First timer going from Italy to Geneva

By car:

Head directly to Lake Maggiore - enjoy the scenery there and spend the first night.

Enter Switzerland by way of Domodossola and the Simplon Pass. You'll then have a chance to visit Zermatt and/or Saas-Fee. Second night.

Going westward down the Rhone Valley, at Martigny head for Chamonix (Mont Blanc). Third night.

Geneva is then about an hour away...

Wow - tuck has given IMO a splendid route, either by car or train - it's easy enough by train - the Martigny-Chamonix train is one of the most dramatically scenic in Europe IMO.

www.cisalpino.com for more on Italy-Switzerland trains.

www.sbb.ch for Swiss trains and to Chamonix

Thank you so much! This is exactly the information I needed.

Oops! One more question...in July, can we pass through this area and find hotels without reservations? We'd like to not have to plan it too carefully.

July is high season and you'll be going to popular tourist locales, so you're taking a chance.

You should plan it "somewhat" carefully. In the upcoming months you should do research on points of interest, hiking possibilities and lodging options (including B+B's, etc). If you prefer to not book ahead, then have a list of places to stay where you're likely to spend the night. Use a phone to call ahead...

Places like the Chamonix area may be aloof to have one-day stays in high season - esp if you arrive on a Friday.

But if you choose to do some hiking above Martigny then you could stay at the Hotel de la Forclaz which is on the route to Chamonix but still in Switzerland. And you could take a nice hike up to the Glacier du Trient. I was in Chamonix last week. It is super crowded in the summer and the cable cars to go up to hike or look around are nearly $40.

OK, it sounds like I need to make hotel reservations. If you were to pick only two stops between Florence and Geneva, where would you stay? I looked at the hotel recommended by beaupeep and it looks perfect. That would be a definite possibility.

If you like Alpine resorts surrounded by glaciers and high peaks Chamonix cannot be beat

nor can the Interlaken area - Berner Oberland - Grindelwald, Wengen, etc. area to me is the high point of the Swiss Alps - so much varied things to do there

And Lake Stresa, one of the fabled lakes of northern Italy is smack on the Florence to Switzerland rail line. Stresa is a fine resort town on the lake and just offshore are the three famous Borromean Islands - each with a pleasant surprise on them - check them out. Train station in heart of town - boats go to the islands just offshore.